This is where the versions diverge: Amélie assures that Karim held her down, hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming, and forced her to undergo anal penetration. Terrified, the young woman then fled the taxi, leaving her belongings behind. She went to file a complaint. Karim, for his part, assures that he did none of this: for him, it was a consensual sexual relationship, nothing more.
First sentenced by default (Editor’s note: by default means that he did not come to defend himself) to 4 years in prison by the Charleroi criminal court, Karim quickly enlisted the help of Me Lauvaux to defend him . He ended up being acquitted: the court considered that the young woman’s testimony, and the fact that she left behind her mobile phone and wallet, were not enough to establish a crime.
The previous judgment confirmed
But the prosecution, which demanded a conviction, decided to appeal with the victim. The case was argued again a few weeks ago before the Mons Court of Appeal. “The prosecution requested a minimum of two years in prison, the civil party also demanded a conviction. They are based on the victim’s story, and an expert assessment of psychological credibility which was carried out“, recalled Me Fabian Lauvaux, Karim’s lawyer, who had requested an acquittal with the benefit of the doubt, considering that there was in particular no “no forensic evidence in the file to confirm the accusations.”
This Tuesday, December 17, the Mons Court of Appeal confirmed the judgment rendered by the Charleroi criminal court. Inconsistencies in the victim’s denounced story were noted by the Mons Court of Appeal, particularly concerning the physical injuries denounced by the young woman. A doubt, in favor of Karim, still exists and confirms the acquittal.
